The White House Wades Into the Console Wars, Releases AI Image of Donald Trump as Master Chief Saluting in Front of an American Flag That Contains a Big Mistake

Microsoft’s announcement that Halo: Campaign Evolved is coming to PlayStation is the last nail successful the coffin for the Xbox exclusive, and for immoderate marks the extremity of the console wars. Now, the White House has waded successful with an AI representation of Donald Trump arsenic a saluting Master Chief that, well… there’s thing precise incorrect astir it.

For the uninitiated, Halo: Campaign Evolved, a remake of the run of 2001’s Halo: Combat Evolved, is owed retired connected Xbox Series X and S, PC, and PlayStation 5 astatine immoderate constituent successful 2026. It is the archetypal Halo crippled ever to motorboat connected a PlayStation console, and cements Microsoft’s presumption arsenic a multiplatform video crippled developer.

The White House has released an AI representation of Donald Trump arsenic Master Chief. Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images.

The thought of a Halo crippled connected a PlayStation console would person been outrageous before, say, a fewer years ago, erstwhile Microsoft’s multiplatform propulsion began (reportedly successful portion owed to a request to marque an accrued nett borderline from Xbox studios). Perhaps that’s what prompted U.S. video crippled store GameStop to tweet a connection declaring the consoles wars over.

Someone determination wrong the bowels of the White House saw that tweet and decided it would beryllium a bully 1 to leap on. The tweet successful question shows the U.S. president arsenic Halo protagonist Master Chief — intelligibly generated by AI — holding an Energy Sword and saluting successful beforehand of the White House and the American Flag.

Power to the Players https://t.co/GqNu0qdgmw pic.twitter.com/4Hw6G7i7aW

But look intimately astatine that emblem and you’ll spot the mistake — determination are 40 stars erstwhile determination should beryllium 50. Has Trump, arsenic Master Chief, teased plans to scrub 10 states from the U.S. map? Did the AI powering the instauration of this representation hint astatine generative AI’s endgame? Should we beryllium worried?

Is Trump claiming a cardinal relation successful ending the console wars? Is the White House making a play for the gamer assemblage here? It’s hard to accidental what this representation is trying to achieve, but it has gone good and genuinely viral, with 9.3 cardinal views astatine the clip of this article’s publication. IGN has asked Microsoft for comment.

It’s an particularly unusual “collab” from the White House erstwhile you see Trump’s anterior comments connected video games. In 2019, Trump suggested 1 mode to forestall aboriginal wide shootings successful America was to instrumentality a steadfast stance against convulsive video games.

"We indispensable halt the glorification of unit successful our society,” helium said. “This includes the gruesome and grisly video games that are present commonplace. It is excessively casual contiguous for troubled younker to situation themselves with a civilization that celebrates violence. We indispensable halt oregon substantially trim this and it has to statesman immediately.”

Perhaps, successful Trump’s mind, Halo doesn’t count.

The Trump medication has signifier erstwhile it comes to utilizing AI images to beforehand the President. In May, Trump sparked a backlash from immoderate Catholics aft posting an AI-generated representation of himself arsenic the Pope. The picture, which was shared by authoritative White House societal media accounts, was released arsenic Catholics mourned the decease of Pope Francis and prepared to take the adjacent pontiff.

The White House has besides released AI images of Trump arsenic Superman and arsenic a Star Wars Jedi. And past month, The Pokémon Company formally responded to the usage of Pokémon TV leader Ash Ketchum and the series' taxable tune by the Department of Homeland Security arsenic portion of a video showing radical being arrested and handcuffed by instrumentality enforcement agents.

We’ve got plentifulness much connected Halo: Campaign Evolved, including wherefore it’s the last nail successful the coffin for the Xbox exclusive, and thoughts from immoderate members of the archetypal Halo improvement squad astatine Bungie.

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].